That’s right!  It’s time for the end-of-term dance!  *dances like a fool*  I emailed everything off last night mere minutes before Official Deadline Time.  It might not all be shiny, but it’s not slop either.  I’ll take that.

Speaking of shiny, Leopard comes out today.   Please excuse my drool.  Lucky for me, I converted Matt to Mac last year, which means he’s just as excited as I am, and we’ll be buying a family pack license for the upgrade.  If he can get it before their big grand opening hoo-hah this evening, I expect it will be waiting for me when I get home from work.  Otherwise, tomorrow.

Not that it will matter much, since I’ll be spending this weekend at MileHiCon, meeting some people in person for the first time, taking some books to get signed (Carrie Vaughn will be there! Woo!), and generally having a good time sans deadline.   Carol Berg will also be there, and will be reading from Breath and Bone, which comes out this January and which I will have in my hands as soon as it’s available.

And then I get three days to finalize my decision about what to write for NaNoWriMo, develop as much of that plot as I can, and it’s off to the races again.

How’s your week going?

As anticipated, I got very little work done over the weekend between visits with friends and family. On the other hand, it was really great to catch up with everybody. We hit up Minella’s Diner and Angelo’s Pizza, which was just heavenly, and even found a water ice stand still open this late in the season. I finished reading two books, both of which I started before the weekend, and wrote up three book reviews (check the Reading Journal link if you’re interested) with comments on a fourth still in progress, hopefully ready to post this evening.

I’m still wildly behind on the writing. I’ve got today and tomorrow off work, and need to finish my pages before work on Thursday so I can run edits at my desk there between answering the phones and turn it all in by Thursday night. And I have to put together my self-evaluation for the term. Also on the agenda for the next two days are unpacking, catching up on laundry, and baking yummy cookie-type things for the church bake sale this weekend, which might have to be abandoned. But I really like baking so I’m hoping to squeeze it in.

As a reward, I’m going to MileHiCon this weekend, where I’ll get to listen to Carol Berg’s reading for Breath and Bone, which comes out in January. I’m not sure I can properly express how much I’m looking forward to it.

I have to be honest here, there are things I just love about the east coast.  Random ice cream stands along a state highway… greenery everywhere, even in the middle of October… Wawas everywhere…

*sigh*

It’s enough to make a girl want to move back… almost.  Of course, there’s also the humidity, the horrible traffic, and the toll roads.  New Hampshire makes people pay to get in, but New Jersey is the only state I’ve ever heard of that you have to hand over money before you can leave.  It’s true – all the NJ interstate bridges cost $3 to cross into another state, and there is no way to get out of the state without crossing a river.  Get in for free, pay to leave.  It’s the New Jersey way!

I finished my last required book on the flight yesterday, which makes me happy, so now I just have to write up my thoughts on it and one other… oh, and finish writing my pages for the month.

No, I won’t tell you how far behind I am.

Okay, I got sick of the horrible, stiff bio blurb I had up here for so long, so I’ve changed it.  Feel free to toddle on over to check it out.  Or, you know, don’t.  Whatever.

Every so often I troll the news sites for interesting and entertaining stories.  Here’s the latest crop:

• Congo pygmies go high-tech to protect their home – Fabulous idea, and I hope it actually works in the long run.
• Amorous couple causes 5-car pileup in Malaysia – Well, that’s what happens when you use civil power to enforce religious laws…
• Doctors find toothbrush in woman’s nose – First of all, it’s only half a toothbrush, but really – how did this lady miss that?
• Couple swarmed by SWAT team after 911 “hack” – and naturally, when they found the kid who made the call, he got in big trouble.  How in the world did this seem like a good idea to this kid?  Hasn’t he watched all those movies where the NSA finds you No Matter What?   You sicced a SWAT team on a couple with two toddlers and you expect people to just laugh and go on??  Oy.
• Suspect says he killed, didn’t eat, his girlfriend – OH!  Well, then it’s all okay.

In personal news, I’ve got a space heater under my desk at work now, which is fabulous because i was COLD yesterday.  And the writing seems to be picking up somewhat, which is always nice.

I just got a free steamer because I come in so often the girl knows me.

Also, I’ve written more in the last hour than in the last three days.  What’s up with this wackiness?  No time to elaborate.  Must keep working.

It’s that time of year again.  The time when thousands of people around the country begin scribbling incomprehensible notes on napkins and praying that the plot bunnies will be kind in preparation for NaNoWriMo (known to people who like to say full, recognizable words as National Novel Writing Month).  That’s right!  The annual 30-day race to record 50,000 words that may or may not be a coherent story and may or may not incorporate ninjas or blue-skinnned joblawoks or any number of other entities that may or may not be real begins in 14 days.  If you need more information, feel free to leave a comment – or just click the link above and hit up the FAQ section, which should take care of all your initial curiosity.

And, of course, I’ve signed up as a participant despite the fact that I’m already working on a novel and I don’t really have time to take on more projects at this point.   This will be my third year as a participant, and although I missed the goal in 2005 (in my defense, I also started 3 part-time jobs that November) I proudly stomped the 50k monster in 27 days last year.  You can find my profile here, which will only be helpful in two weeks, when it starts reporting my progress (assuming I update it, of course).  If you’re going to join in the fun, feel free to add me as a writing buddy.  I like buddies.

The jury’s still out about whether I’ll use NaNo to catch up (and finish) my current manuscript, whether I’ll use it as a chance to explore some other aspects of the world in which I’m writing to better inform the current project, or whether I’ll take the opportunity to give my brain a break and work on something completely different for a while.  If the third, I would commit to turning out a certain amount of my “regular” novel in addition to the 50k on a new project.

And of course, I must note that if I AM going to start a new project, I have no blessed idea what in the world that project will look like.

So feel free to throw out suggestions, either in terms of which of my three options I should pursue or ideas for that hypothetical new novel or, you know, what I should make for dinner tonight.  Any and all thoughts accepted, on any subject.

Have a good one!

I’ve been quiet lately because I’m really frustrated about not getting writing done, and I sincerely dislike whiney posts (both on my blog and others), so I’ve just avoided posting.

Tomorrow Matt’s going to be helping with trail maintenance up near Estes Park, which is a lovely area, and since a change of routine and scenery often helps with the kick in the seat I need to get back to writing, I’ll be going up with him.  It’s supposed to be cold and rainy/snowy, which means I won’t even be moderately tempted to wander around town and look in shop windows.  I’m going to find me a nice coffee shop with free refills on hot tea and write the day away.

I turned 25 last Thursday, and to celebrate I decided I wanted to go to the zoo. So I dragged Matt along with me (all resistance evaporated as soon as we saw the first lions, right inside the gate) and we spent a great afternoon wandering around feeling 15 years younger than we are. “Look! An elephant! Quick! Take a picture!”

We took a lot of pictures, but these are some of my favorites, of the sea lions in synchronization:

Notice the third sea lion curled up in the little cave there. Ha.

I got an annual pass for me plus one guest each visit, so I’ll be taking lots of people back with me in the next few months. I’m looking forward to it. I forget how much I like the zoo, between visits. I guess it’s not that hard to forget, since I think it’s been over 10 years since I last had a chance to go…

That’s all – I’ve got a few book reviews almost ready to go up, so keep an eye on the reading journal for those (link at the top of the page).

Have a good one!

William Zeriah Wright was born this afternoon at 3:54PM (EST).  He weighed in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. and 22 inches long.  Rumor has it that he has lots of dark hair, dark blue eyes, and big hands – so maybe my grandmother will get a pianist out of her offspring after all.

Many congrats to Nathan and Johanna – and thanks for the birthday present, even if it is a day early!

I have yet to see a picture, but I’m sure it won’t be long.  He can’t be anything but beautiful.

I’m an Aunt!  I’m an Aunt!